Vegas may be kitsch, and I'm sure my daughter would love to go there sometime, but other than Blue Man Group and some wacky "people-watching" offering fascinating sociological snapshots of media-induced 'get-rich-quick' high roller mentality, it can really be quite disheartening... I actually have written for a few of the hotels (Treasure Island/ Mirage) and had to 'push the … [Read more...]
The Flickr photographer, Bennett says this billboard is in Times Square, NYC, about 20' x 20'. I'm waiting for a corporate callback with an explanation from a 'Target Team member.' Meanwhile, the universal issue is sexualized ad slop, and how we need to just freakin’ STOP it. The tasteless toddler tee “Hooters Girl in Training” (hat tip to Corporate … [Read more...]
Big Media Smack Down! You ready? Just for fun, I tried this ever-so-clever animation game from the Stop Big Media consortium with my TV-loving tween to open a discussion on the high stakes gambit of unchecked media consolidation. (yeah, I know, I have a weird household) Being an animal lover, the violence of the 'Whack a Mole' arcade game always made me cringe, but … [Read more...]
I find it ironic that the WIPO, (World Intellectual Property Organization) wants to educate tweens aged 9-14 about copyright (see 72-page workbook pdf file here) when childrens’ rights are usurped regularly in the digital sphere via user-generated content without shared authorship, credit, or kudos. Shouldn’t kids have the same creative rights/attributions as … [Read more...]
In the new terrain of participatory media, what's fair and what's foul in video mashups? Many of us have laughed our heads off at the "Fair(y) Use Tale" spoofing Disney, but is character appropriation now a free-for-all? When is a remix a ripoff and when is it fair use in public media? When kids boogie to soundtracks in front of their webcams and lip synch themselves into … [Read more...]
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